Automotive Industry: Employment, Earnings, and Hours

The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles. This industry is not formally defined in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics is referring to a group of detailed industries as the “automotive industry” for purposes of analysis. This list is not exhaustive, but includes industries that can be directly impacted by changes in U.S. production and sales of motor vehicles. Below are definitions of these industries

National Employment

Employment — Seasonally Adjusted

Data series

Backdata

One year ago:Mar. 2019

Jan. 2020

Feb. 2020

Mar. 2020

1-month change:Feb. 2020 –Mar. 2020

12-month change:Mar. 2019 –Mar. 2020

Employment(all employees, in thousands)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

1,005.8

990.4

998.9

996.7

-2.2

-9.1

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

2,022.6

2,064.3

2,064.4

2,059.7

-4.7

37.1

Automobile dealers

1,298.5

1,310.1

1,310.9

1,307.3

-3.6

8.8

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment — Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series

Backdata

Annual average:2019

Jan. 2020

Feb. 2020

Mar. 2020

12-month changes:

Feb. 2019 –Feb. 2020

Mar. 2019 –Mar. 2020

Employment(all employees, in thousands)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

998.5

989.2

1,004.1

1,003.6

-10.9

-8.1

Motor vehicles manufacturing

237.2

235.0

245.7

3.2

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

165.7

166.6

167.9

2.5

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

595.6

587.6

590.5

-16.6

Wholesale Trade

Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers

359.5

360.5

360.7

3.8

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

2,034.7

2,047.5

2,050.6

2,049.9

47.5

36.9

Automobile dealers

1,300.0

1,305.2

1,308.1

1,304.2

15.9

9.0

Other motor vehicle dealers

163.9

156.3

158.7

160.5

3.9

2.9

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

570.9

586.0

583.8

585.2

27.7

25.0

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

948.8

950.8

962.7

32.3

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

National Average Hourly Earnings

Average Hourly Earnings — Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series

Backdata

Annual average:2019

Jan. 2020

Feb. 2020

Mar. 2020

12-month change:Mar. 2019 –Mar. 2020

Average hourly earnings (of production and nonsupervisory workers)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

$23.50

$23.81

$23.90

$23.80

$0.56

Motor vehicles manufacturing

29.64

29.81

29.92

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

20.25

20.59

20.53

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

21.68

22.07

22.01

Wholesale Trade

Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers

22.22

22.10

22.25

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

21.02

21.16

21.14

Automobile dealers

22.85

23.00

22.90

Other motor vehicle dealers

20.04

19.98

19.80

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

16.88

17.15

17.34

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

20.02

20.33

20.46

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

National Average Weekly Hours

Average Weekly Hours — Seasonally Adjusted

Data series

Backdata

One year ago:Mar. 2019

Jan. 2020

Feb. 2020

Mar. 2020

1-month change:Feb. 2020 –Mar. 2020

Average weekly hours (of production and nonsupervisory workers)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

43.3

43.0

43.4

43.3

-0.1

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Average Weekly Hours — Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series

Backdata

Annual average:2019

Jan. 2020

Feb. 2020

Mar. 2020

12-month changes:

Feb. 2019 –Feb. 2020

Mar. 2019 –Mar. 2020

Average weekly hours (of production and nonsupervisory workers)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

43.3

42.5

43.1

43.5

-0.6

-0.1

Motor vehicles manufacturing

45.0

44.5

45.4

0.5

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

41.0

41.0

42.0

1.0

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

43.3

42.1

42.4

-1.5

Wholesale Trade

Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers

37.7

37.3

37.5

-0.1

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

37.2

37.0

37.7

1.0

Automobile dealers

37.5

37.1

37.9

0.8

Other motor vehicle dealers

35.4

35.1

35.7

1.2

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

37.1

37.2

37.6

1.2

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

35.3

34.9

35.2

0.6

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment in Selected States

Employment — Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series

Backdata

Annual average:2019

Jan. 2020

Feb. 2020

Mar. 2020

12-month change:Mar. 2019 –Mar. 2020

Employment(all employees, in thousands)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

Motor vehicles manufacturing

Alabama

14.0

14.5

14.7

14.9

1.3

California

17.8

17.2

17.1

17.1

-2.3

Kentucky

22.3

22.7

22.6

22.6

0.5

Michigan

38.2

40.2

40.3

39.6

-0.7

Missouri

11.5

9.6

10.7

10.8

-0.8

Ohio

22.3

22.0

22.1

21.8

0.3

Texas

12.4

12.7

12.7

12.7

0.6

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

Indiana

41.6

41.9

42.5

42.6

-0.6

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

Alabama

24.8

24.2

24.0

23.9

-1.4

California

Indiana

65.3

64.6

64.8

64.7

-1.0

Kentucky

35.4

35.5

35.3

34.9

-1.1

Michigan

132.9

130.9

131.5

131.3

-4.6

Mississippi

6.1

6.0

6.0

5.9

-0.2

New York

11.0

10.7

10.9

10.8

-0.3

Ohio

75.5

75.8

75.8

74.7

-1.0

Wisconsin

(Source: State and Metro Area Employment, Hours, & Earnings )

About the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles. This industry is not formally defined in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics is referring to a group of detailed industries as the “automotive industry” for purposes of analysis. This list is not exhaustive, but includes industries that can be directly impacted by changes in U.S. production and sales of motor vehicles. Below are definitions of these industries. Current and historical data back to 1990 are available for these industries. Data provided are for establishments that are located in the United States; the data do not distinguish between domestic and foreign ownership. Employment data are for all employees; average hourly earnings and average weekly hours are for production and nonsupervisory workers.

Links to Definitions of Detailed Industries within Automotive Industry